Planning for a new polarized source

In anticipation of obtaining funds for a new polarized source, the authors have tried to stay abreast of new source technological developments. In particular, the authors have worked to try to understand methods for improving the atomic beam polarized source. It seems interesting to consider whether the large ionization efficiency of an electron-cyclotron-resonance source could be maintained if such a source were used as an ionizer for the polarized atomic beam. An analysis of this application suggests that such an ECR ionizer might produce outgoing ion-beam intensities which are up to five times larger than those presently achieved with electron bombardment ionizers. Furthermore, the concern previously expressed that the ECR ionizer would cause resonant depolarization of the atomic beam before ionization seems unlikely